Is Sci-Fi Losing Its Way? Part 2

The third which has gained much controversy is the Episode VIII of Star Wars. The Last Jedi opened to a huge box office and raves by the critics. However, the audience panned it, according to Rotten Tomatoes, as the worst episode yet. I agree. What was perpetrated on the Star Wars saga in this movie was nothing short of shameful and Disney, Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams, and Rian Johnson should be penalized in some way for their thought this would be a good move. I never thought that the Force Awakens was the best movie and I would rate it fourth behind Return of the Jedi. I love the characters however of Rey and Finn and the casting of those roles. This is a credit to Abrams. But the exciting elements that Abrams brought to the saga were destroyed by Johnson and so was the entire storyline of the original three and the prequels. It was as if Johnson desperately hated Star Wars and wanted to demolish all that it was. Although, this was a well-made movie it certainly was not a good Star Wars movie. Here are the major problems with this film both from a Star Wars fan and someone who doesn’t like to see stupid plot points that make no sense-

I have to begin with the biggest one, and that was the light saber wielded castration of Luke Skywalker’s mojo. The first six movies revolve around Luke, and his father and even the Force Awaken’s creates much anticipation to the hope that Luke will be able to help with the resistance’s dire situation. However, when Luke appears he is comically inept, cranky, and essentially no longer a Jedi. He has abandoned the force and the Jedi’s ways living as a hermit. In the final scene of Luke’s appearance, Johnson has the opportunity to make up for his horrible writing by creating the most magnificent Jedi fight scene to date. Kylo Ren duels with Luke in an incredible and exciting fight scene. However, it is not really Luke, but an astral projection and nothing is accomplished but a time delay. Really??? Then to top it all off, this is what causes Luke’s death through exhaustion from doing virtually nothing.

Rey comes from nothing. One of the most powerful “Jedi’s” who has absolutely no training also has no heritage. One can argue that anyone can become a Jedi, but only through immense amounts of training. Luke didn’t need as much coaching, although he was trained by Yoda because his heritage was so strong. The other principle that the originals established including Force Awakens (Kylo Ren & Leia) was that the power of the force comes through bloodlines passed on to descendants. This mishap is a significant flaw in Johnson’s writing. The contradiction in his thinking is that in all of this Leia never received training and never became a Jedi. Yet, Kylo Ren needed it by both Luke and Snoke.

Supreme Leader Snoke is a fascinating character, and Johnson fails miserably with this individual as well. Snoke displays that he is the most powerful being to enter the Star Wars movie universe, yet there is no back story on how this most powerful being came into existence. Is he considered a Sith Lord? How did he come to power? Why is he trying to take over the Republic and Galaxy? So many questions were unanswered it almost makes his character not worth even introducing. This show is where Johnson’s weakness really lies in that he cannot make a character-driven film even though they were laid in his lap but instead chose to pursue a plot of special effects and cheap gimmicks that makes us yearn for George Lucas to come back to the series. The other major failure with Snoke was that even though he is the most powerful character introduced he was killed by a slight movement of the light saber by the force with no fighting. Which if realistic we would have seen used in the past by Jedi’s and Sith including the ability to fight with a light saber only using the force and no physical contact.

The Last Jedi should be the last film for Johnson. Instead Disney has put him in charge of creating a new trilogy not focused on the Jedi or Skywalkers, so hopefully, he can redeem himself. Unfortunately, while trying to create a Star Wars universe, Disney destroyed what made that universe desirable and exciting. Without the Sith, Jedi, and Skywalkers the galaxy far far away is just like any other galaxy far far away. They have taken it off its pedestal and allowed any other sci-fi series to compete with it effectively.